Pennsylvania Turnpike pileup

[corncobs]

Luckily nobody was seriously hurt.

 

http://abclocal.go.com/wpvi/story?section=news/local&id=9432120#

 

The Fusion in first few seconds of the video isn't doing too well :(

 

[hybridbear]

That's incredible that no one was seriously hurt or killed! People drive way to fast for the road conditions. I don't like the fact that the news story is placing the blame on the state saying that they had lifted the speed restrictions and then this accident happened, the drivers of the cars need to take responsibility that they were not driving safely. I wonder if there are traffic cameras that captured how the accident started. Police here use those to recreate freeway accidents.

 

This accident happened a few weeks ago in the Twin Cities area. The top video in the news story is just the traffic camera video, the lower embedded video is the news story with more info about what happened. The State Trooper spokesman in the interview comments about how people were driving too fast for the conditions.

[jsolan]

The article in my paper had a quote from one driver that was something like "Yeah they lifted the speed restrictions, but the road wasn't good so I kept driving 45. People kept flying past me at 65+ and was thinking 'Do they not see the same road conditions that I do?'"

 

Some people are just oblivious to their surroundings. Glad nobody was majority injured. That's at least the 3rd multicar accident this winter for the TP.

[acdii]

People need to get their heads out of their asses and think about what they are doing. They think they are invincible and then when this happens they try to blame everyone but themselves. I see it way too often, people tailgating and driving too fast, then BAM! To me its more a lack of proper education than anything else, put these people on a skid pad and let them fudge their undies a few times, then lets see if they tailgate and drive like this. Nothing is scarier than having a trailer you are pulling try to pass you, then add in these cars cutting you off and driving like nuts, not realizing that if they can't stop, how can you! I used to drive a Semi, but there are way too many stupid drivers out there, so I much rather sit behind a desk than the wheel of 80K pounds.

 

Of course the real problem is they speed and tailgate and nothing happens, no tickets, no fines, and if they do get a ticket its a small fine and a pat on the head and they do it again. In Germany they do things a bit different, they have watchers along the Autobahn, and if they spot someone tailgating, they get the plate and then issue them a fine, they dont get pulled over, just a notice saying, you were seen tailgating, and your fine for this is, and its based on their income, and some fines can be pretty damned high! They do the same for speeders too, not every part of the Autobahn is unlimited speed, and even those parts that are can be deemed too fast for conditions, and those fines are pretty high too.

 

People need to slow down, there is no reason to be doing 50 MPH in a 35 zone like they do in CL, those that do only get stuck sitting at the next light, then they race off to be stuck at the next light. There is one section that is 45 MPH and people race through doing 65. I am all for speed cameras on those stretches of road, go 6 MPH over the posted limit, get a fine. 40 in a 35, OK, 45 in a 40, ok, 50 in a 45, ok, but more than that is really just being an ass. They dont consider how much they are wasting in gas by doing it, but maybe when they get 4 or 5 $150 fines slapped on them then maybe they will slow down and drive more reasonable.

[acdii]

Well as an update to my prior post, not all conditions are avoidable. After this morning I can clearly see how some of these pileups can happen. Cresting a hill where prior visibility was good enough to be doing close to the posted limit then suddenly met head on with a total white out, well, it happens. Just so happens that someone else had hit someone, but failed to put their 4 way's on to warn others, and thats how these things happen. Prior to cresting the hill I saw no reason to be doing anything less than 45 MPH since there was plenty to see ahead, however, because of where this car was, I would have hit it no matter what speed I was driving. You know the saying practice what you preach, there is also the saying , you learn from your mistakes. I have been driving on this road 13 years, I should know that portion is prone to drifting, but I have Never seen it whiteout like it did this morning.